Printing is a very important feature that is provided by many software applications for end users. For example, email applications typically allow a user to print email message to create a hard copy record. Likewise, other applications such as word processing applications, browser applications and the like permit a user to print various pages. Yet, these types of applications, as well as others, often have inefficiencies that not only make the end user's experience not all that it could be, but waste paper as well.
As an example, consider the following in connection with FIG. 1. There, a system 100 includes a monitor 102 on which a page of content 104 appears and is displayed for a user. Assume that the user wishes to print the content on a printer, such as the one shown at 106. When the user prints the content, many times the content will be printed across two pages, such as those pages shown at 108. Notice here that a first page 110 includes a majority of the content that was displayed for the user, and a second page 112 includes a very small amount of content 114. Using a second page to print only a very small amount of content wastes paper and can tend to annoy end users.
Accordingly, this invention arose out of concerns associated with providing improved methods and systems for printing content.